Tree surgery is dangerous – FULL STOP ! The mix of heights, ropes, chainsaws and heavy, sometime VERY heavy pieces of wood make this one of the most dangerous professions around. Injuries arising from mistakes are very rarely small. Sometimes they can be fatal! That’s we for us it’s Safety first every time
We recently updated our first aid kits to compromise of full trauma dressings (military standard), blood clotting agents, tourniquets along with the usual first aid items such as eye wash, plasters and so on.
Problem is, sometimes the team is quite a distance from the truck and although they carry personal first aid kits they may need more. Our solution was to put them in indestructible, waterproof Pelicases from the US. These things are incredible, you can drive excavators over them and they don’t damage. The team can now work knowing their supplies of potentially life saving first aid gear is near them, dry and un damaged. Cost of case and all the supplies? Around about £150. In my view it’s a no brainer!
Fortunately more often then not we have to throw out un-used, out-of-date items of first aid. This I can only put down to decent and safe working practices. Sure, there’s the odd cut here and there, it’s quite unavoidable. For the most part serious injuries do not happen. I make sure to put adequate timescales on jobs, that reduce the risk of rushing, or feeling under pressure.
First aid is vitally important, but Safety first every time hopefully can reduce the risk of ever having to use military field dressings, tourniquet, resus aids etc etc.
